


Hot Neighbors

by Shatterpath



Series: The 7 AUs of Christmas 2018 [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Comfort Food, F/F, Gen, Lucy Lane (DCU) Being an Asshole, Neighbors, Star-crossed, Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-28 12:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17183423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: Rich girl Lena is out on her own for the first time in her life, and it hasn't been easy, but she loves it. Then someone buys the firetrap next door and things get chaotic. Still, the crew there is fun to watch and sinfully attractive, so she can't complain. But there's one of them that catches her eye with those broad shoulders and a shock of reddish hair begging to be mussed.If only they could stop missing one another!For the week after Christmas, my author wrote for me,More about the Soulmates,Hot neighbors in the sun,





	1. Controlled Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes, it really does start this simply…  
> theillogicalthinker: I kinda love the mundane ish aus. OH HOW ABOUT THE HOT NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR  
> Shatterpath: oh hey!!! Now THAT I could get behind.

When their last parent died and things fell apart, Lena simply let her brother buy her out for nickels on the dollar and walked away. In their pain, the siblings were skirting becoming enemies and at least this way maybe she could avoid finding his crosshairs on her back. With the subsequent ugly fallout in the big business world, she was relieved to have gotten out when she did.

Still, no matter how many zeros that settlement had, it wasn't worth the cost of a family.

Maybe with her bankroll, most people might have chosen to disappear somewhere wild and exotic. A private island, a villa on the Mediterranean, some sprawling ranch in a wilderness preserve somewhere.

Certainly no one would be looking for her in an old neighborhood of Los Angeles that was only just starting to see a much-needed rebirth. Weary old houses that seemed barely able to hold themselves up under their own weight, stood shoulder to shoulder with battered apartment complexes and a corner mart with shockingly delicious sandwiches and salads. The summer heat left the neighborhood quiet during the day and came to life as day faded into night.

Lena loved it.

Her new home was a sprawling old hacienda-style place with tile floors, heavy walls and windows everywhere. With a sophisticated security system in place and some good bug screens, she had no intention of shutting a single window before October at the earliest. A glorious novelty for a native New Yorker.

One bedroom became her office, the second a smaller sleeping room with an in-wall air-conditioning unit for those really bad days, and the master became her haven of sun and calm. The yards were nicely proportioned and left pretty much to do as they would, there was a little pool to cool off in and a surprise that instantly became her favorite spot. It was a castle turret… miniature second floor… odd architectural feature right smack in the middle of the living room. It looked like a little square lighthouse dropped atop the low house, heavily roofed and every wall all windows. Turned out it was meant for air circulation, to vent hot air up and out of the house, but someone had built a little platform with a retractable ladder leading up to it.

There she could curl up and relax to her heart's content. There was something about the small, high spot that calmed her. When one of the neighborhood cats adopted her, it was no shock that he loved it too.

Lena spent her lazy days puttering about Los Angeles and picking up hobbies as they caught her whim. After a rigidly structured and stressful life, her gentle soul loved the sedate pace and freedom to do as she wished. She played at art and wasn't too shabby at some of it, put together wild ensembles in the boutiques and classy second-hand shops, even took a few surfing lessons that were mostly disastrous but lots of fun.

And better, she found the farmer's markets.

Oh, how she loved those gems. Beautiful produce with the dirt still clinging to them, fresh eggs and meats and gorgeous craft items to warm up her new home. Inspired by the bounty, she built on a basic grasp of cooking, put of a few pounds, installed a home gym and kept cooking. 

The one fly in the ointment was the eyesore next door. Now, there was some ugly properties in the vicinity, sure, but this place was a whole new level of ugly. There was evidence of terrible neglect, of badly bungled additions, a pool left empty until enough soil had collected to grow weeds. After a few months of looking at the poor, sad thing, Lena was about ready to buy it and sic a contractor on it just so she didn't have to look at it anymore.

But someone beat her to it.

Lena had wandered out to do a bit of shopping and get some lunch, gone for an hour and a half, tops. In that narrow window, chaos had moved in next door. 

There was a dumpster the size of a big-rig that she could smell from her garage, several burly contractor trucks and a noisy crew bustling about as busy as ants. Generators roared and hammers banged away in discordant harmony to a babble of voices.

Well, at least it would be temporary.

"Hadron?" she called out once inside, but there was not so much as a hint of a ginger whisker. With the racket next door, he was probably holed up under her bed in the air-conditioned room. If he didn't stick his head out for dinner, then she'd worry.

With lunch and refreshments in hand, Lena climbed to her perch to watch the chaos next door. Who needed television? This was much better.

It was clear they were a close bunch that had worked together for some time. There were two African-American men, one older and burly and the other tall and built like a model. The smaller, nerdy white boy clearly not happy with the demolition part of their task, was stark contrast to them. Mister Model stuck close to him and it was clear they were bantering back and forth.

The rest of the crew was women.

There was a baked-brown Hispanic with a butch haircut and a lovely African-American woman a bit older. Both moved with the kind of steady, tireless power that could move mountains. In contrast was a tiny thing built like a dancer with some Middle Eastern in her features that was lightning in a bottle. Her steps were light and energetic as though she were going to sprint away at a moment's notice. She seemed a hyper terrier in contrast to a golden retriever when she stood next to the tallish, well-muscled blonde with the perfectly flowing locks who looked like she should be standing on a surfboard under a curling wave selling shampoo.

Another vehicle arrived then, a burly pickup truck that was all big tool-rack and a frame above full of pipes and ladders. Utterly incongruously, it was hauling a moderately-sized travel trailer. Despite the thing being parked in front of her own house, Lena was delighted to see that it was a well-cared for silver Airstream with its distinctive Twinkie shape. She had always wanted to see one of those.

Out of the truck climbed a fifth woman, strappingly slender with broad shoulders and strong hips and sporting a shock of auburn hair the sun had lovingly streaked with brassy red. Raking her hands through her messy bob, the woman pulled a cardboard box from the passenger side and shot a long look at Lena's house before heading to the demolition site. The others converged on lunch, standing around a makeshift table of a sheet of plywood set on some sawhorses. While they ate, they dithered over some large sheets of paper, pointing at things and scribbling. Lena would bet those were blueprints of their worksite. 

For the rest of the afternoon Lena watched them haul out an astonishing amount of debris from the ratty house. Rolls of carpet, smashed furniture, shattered drywall and bits of cabinets piled into the huge dumpster. There were plenty of heavy black trash bags, several held at arm's length as though they were full of nitroglycerine. By the way the others cringed away, Lena was glad to not be close enough to smell.

She jumped when the ugly, rusty carport collapsed with a crash, leaving the crew cheering. They piled it up off one side of the weedy front yard with the rest of the metal recyclables and quickly wiggled the Airstream trailer into the space that really wasn't large enough for it. Not a moment too soon either, as the neighborhood was coming to life with the evening rush of workers returning home. 

They fascinated Lena for the next several weeks. 

The first name Lena got was Lucy. She got it because the others yelled it. A lot. Aggravated or amused, it didn't matter, someone was bellowing Lucy's name at least once an hour. She was the energetic little terrier whose loud voice Lena often caught snatches of as she harangued the others with various levels of glee and outrage. 

Her favorite target was Mister Model, who was James. They were or had been a thing, Lena recognized the body language. He seemed immune to her shenanigans which also spoke of familiarity.

John was the older fellow, who never raised his voice over a bass rumble. His partner in temperament was Megan and Lena caught them kissing tenderly a few times out of sight of the younger team members.

The nerdy guy's name she couldn't quite decipher, but there was an 'in' sound in there somewhere. For nearly two weeks she thought Shampoo Commercial was Tara, but it turned out she needed to hear the redhead doubled over with laughter, shout-gasping, "Kara!" to get the true name. She was as sunny as her good looks, always shoving a shoulder under a load that had another staggering and grinning through the filthiest tasks. Kara also never seemed to sunburn, which Lena both envied and marveled at.

Butch Haircut was even quieter than John and it took some time to get her name. Lena found herself laughing at Lucy's indignant squeal from somewhere in the gutted house, ending in a high-pitched wail of, "Suuuuusan!" A moment later, the two of them tore from the house and down the street, Susan wielding a technicolor squirt gun bigger than James' thigh and an incensed Lucy hot on her tail bearing a wet streak across the shoulders of her light blue crew shirt.

Lena laughed so hard she had to brace herself to not take a nasty fall.

The redhead was a mystery that Lena found herself fascinated with. Some days she'd be there in the crew's blue polo shirts and khaki shorts that hung just past the knee, geared up in heavy work boots and gloves. Twice she showed up in full corporate drag, heels and all, changing in the trailer. And two or three times a week she appeared in a well-fitted suit and tie… driving a limousine. The clues were intriguing and baffling.

Lena was fairly certain her name was Alex based on the snippets of voice she could hear, but the name was so close to her brother's that she sort of shut it out of her mind.

When not getting her daily soap opera from the team next door, Lena spent her time learning to be a normal person. Growing up at the top tier of privilege, she was missing an awful lot of skills that reared their ugly heads at the weirdest times. Like the time she was doing her best to muddle through the mystery of her washing machine and turned an entire load a horrid pale pink. Or finding out that there were two types of detergent in the kitchen. The kind you used to hand wash and the kind you put in the dishwasher. The flood of bubbles had been funny as hell once the shock wore off and she mopped for hours to clean that particular mistake up.

At least she had good, solid cooking skills, that was something. Though when the damn pilot light went out in the range, she panicked and called for an expert. How was she supposed to know if it was leaking gas or not?

A quirky toilet and a plumber nice enough not to laugh at her taught Lena about the mysteries in the porcelain tank and another hire walked her through basic pool care. Every skill left her feeling much better about being in the big house alone. 

After a hire company mauled her lovely landscaping she fired them and left a nasty review on Yelp. Thankfully a neighborhood kid shyly knocked on her door looking for a few bucks to keep the lawn mowed.

Still, the trees and shrubs were getting shaggy after a summer of good sun and a thankfully automatic watering system. One more thing on her list of crap to get done around the house.

Mid September rolled around to challenge August's high temperatures and the whole city felt like it was melting around the edges. When the asphalt street sucked stickily at Lena's sneakers, she was faintly alarmed. 

The crew brought in a noisy earthmover that crowded the suburban neighborhood to rip out the ugly pool and enlarge the depression to nearly half again the original size. While they had the backhoe out there, they'd also been slaving away setting enormous piles of hardscape into place to make retaining walls and planting beds and nice, tight walking surfaces. Just watching them working so hard in the heat left Lena feeling exhausted.

Eyeballing her pantry and cabinets that had steadily been growing more crowded with yummy things and fascinating tools as she experimented, she decided that today was as good a day as any to finally approach the interesting strangers next door. Besides, she'd gone a little crazy on her latest expedition to the farmer's market and there was no way she could eat all that gorgeous produce. So she set about making a little feast for the senses, determined to make a good impression.

Several hours later she was fretting at the time, hoping they would still be there and should she just wait until tomorrow? But some of her goodies were time sensitive and she needed to get a grip and just go already!

With soft-sided cooler and a canvas shopping bag in hand, she put on a big sun hat and swallowed hard before tipping her chin up and striding out into the heat. 'Never let them see you falter,' Mom would say and give Lena a poke in the back when her posture wasn't picture-perfect. The nagging would be welcome about now. Who knew she would ever miss that…

After a moment of anxiety over how she would even get her goodies to the backyard through the mine field of construction work, Lena came around the visual barrier of her overgrown hedges to spot Kara working on the front yard. There was no response from the blonde who was busily digging neat trenches for the irrigation plumbing awaiting final burial. 

Until the instant Lena stepped a toe onto the dirt and Kara's gaze snapped up like a guard dog's.

"Please don't! It's not safe." she called out sharply and then brightened cheerfully. "Oh hey, you're the neighbor. Hi!"

The sunny grin up close was a sight to behold, Kara yanking off her right glove as she strode over, shovel clamped to her side. She had a handshake like being bowled over by a two hundred pound dog that somehow managed to be more comforting than crushing.

"Kara Danvers. Pleased to meet you. Sorry for all the noise and mess."

A little overwhelmed by the friendliness --and goodness she was tall-- it took a moment for Lena to react. Really, she needed to get out among people again, she was becoming a hermit.

"Um, yes, hello. A pleasure. I'm Lena Luthor. And the mess is worth it to see this eyesore cleaned up. I brought some cool refreshments if you want to call your crew."

If at all possible, Kara's smile grew, lighting up her summery blue eyes. "Really? That's really nice of you. Let me go yell for them, okay?"

Feeling incredibly awkward standing there on the sidewalk, Lena watched Kara trot to the house, dexterous as a cat in husky work boots that would have sent Lena falling onto her face. Then the people she'd been watching were filing out, curiosity written all over their faces as they approached. It was so strange to be standing close to them, for she almost felt like she knew them.

"Hi," she said shyly, setting down the sack and unzipping the cold case. "It's been so hot and you are all working so hard that I took advantage of my kitchen experiments and whipped up a few things. You know, if you'd like to try them."

Kara startled at the ice-filled plexiglass box handed to her, its cover perforated with neat holes, nine of which were filled with tall, thin shot glasses in a sunset orange. James happened to be the next closest pair of hands and got the second rack, his a lush green.

"So that's blood orange with a touch of basil and honey and an asparagus and veggie mix that goes excellently with seafood."

Ever more curious, the gang still held back until Susan grabbed one of the dark orange ones and shrugged. "Bottoms up." She tossed the drink back and blinked in surprise, marveling at the skinny glass. "Wow is that intense! And surprisingly good. Try it, guys."

That was all the rest needed to reach for the goodies and exclaim over them. Pleased at their responses, Lena dug into the sack, revealing bags of cookies, a fat loaf of zucchini bread and a strawberry rhubarb pie with only one slice out of it. She'd even remembered forks and small porcelain plates. 

They were all very nice, introducing themselves and thanking her for the nibblies and giving Lena a bit of chatting. It was all very civilized despite the soil and sweat clinging to the crew. That was until Kara insisted on wrinkling her nose at the shooter glass of bright green juice.

That was a clear invitation for the others to gang up on her until they became a unified, raucous chant of, "drink, drink, drink!" Rolling her eyes, Kara finally gave in and tilted her head back to swallow the thing as fast as she could. Lena joined in the laughter at the look of shock on her face.

"I hate veggies! But that's really good! I almost don't want to ask what's in it."

Delighted, Lena had to do it, her tone teasing. "Asparagus, a touch of avocado and a bit of fruit juice to sweeten. Oh, and juiced kale."

They all sent a roar of mockery at Kara, who looked horrified.

 

\----

Lena wasn't ready to admit that she was disappointed that the attractive Alex hadn't been there, Lucy stealing her green shot and Kara the orange. They'd been very nice, the whole raucous lot of them, and she looked forward to perhaps wandering over there again at some point.

But in that one act of victuals and a friendly hand, she had set the mongrels into hounding her into interacting with them regularly. It started the next afternoon with a strong knock at her door, interrupting a half-hearted attempt at following along with a Bob Ross video on YouTube. Setting aside her paints, Lena headed for the front door and checked the camera feed to see a grinning Kara standing there, bouncing in her big work boots like a little kid.

"Hi Lena! We have pizza, come join us!"

After a moment's hesitation in deference to the wet paint she'd been fiddling with, Lena shrugged and smiled. "Sure! Just give me a moment to cover up from the sun."

Tossing her brushes into a glass of water, Lena scampered off to change into loose white pants and a striped shirt that clung to her curves. With a turquoise wrap, sun hat --all in sun-proof fabrics of course-- and a pair of cute little sneakers from her new collection had to her ready for the mini-adventure of lunch with the work crew next door.

Grinning at her, Kara was immediately as gregarious as a golden retriever as Lena locked her door and followed. 

"You were so nice yesterday that we ordered a little extra and agreed that you totally had to come join us! Aw jeez, you're not a vegetarian are you? Dang it! I should have asked! Because you brought us all veggie stuff, though you did say something about seafood, I remember that, so we're probably okay. Do you like pizza? There's an old Italian place Alex found a couple of weeks ago that is insanely good and makes these little garlic cheese roll thingies that are to die for, and we got bubble tea in a million flavors so you can chose what you want, and you're our guest, so you get first choice!"

In the wall of chatter, Lena gave up actually replying and simply tagged along, a smile playing around her mouth. To her amusement and gratitude there was a portable picnic table and benches set up on the sidewalk, already holding up a cooler, a paper grocery sack and three of the biggest pizza boxes Lena had ever seen. The same crowd as yesterday was already there and greeted her in a wall of enthusiasm that delighted Lena deeply. If she'd known how effective a snack was going to be, she'd have stopped by weeks ago!

"Watermelon, mango, papaya, avocado, cantaloupe --which I still say is just nasty-- or plain ol' sweetened tea?" Lucy asked as she set out large cups out from where they had been hiding in the cooler. Each had a fat straw punched through their sealed tops and odd-looking chunks pooled at the bottom. "They're bubble teas, which are just fancy fruit smoothies with tapioca pearls in them. Guest gets first choice."

"Oh, okay. That sounds… interesting. I guess I should stick to something safe like mango?"

"Done!"

The pale orangeish cup was passed over and pizza boxes flipped open. The drink was delicious, if not a tad sweet for Lena's tastes, but the chewy tapioca was taking a little getting used to. Still, it was fun and refreshing, so a win there. From the feeding frenzy --really someone was going to get mauled in there-- a hand thrust out with three pieces of pizza sloppily thrown on it.

"It's too much…"

"Take it!" Lucy yelled and a smaller hand that was probably Susan's shoved at the plate until Lena had to grab it to save her clothes. The pepperoni was too greasy, though tasty, and the everything was good, but she was too worried about wearing it to really enjoy it and was content with only a nibble. The wonderfully traditional margeherita with big chunks of mozzarella and whole leaves of basil was a slice of food-gasmic heaven though. She traded out for more of that and was quickly packed full of mango and pizza.

"I'm going to explode," Lena whined to the amusement of the others. To her utter astonishment, everything but a single slice of each was gone, Kara actually picking off bits of cheese and toppings from the wax paper. "How did you all pack that much away?"

They chuckled like one entity and lounged in the sunlight for peaceful moments.

"This work takes it outta you," Kara replied around her nibbling.

"And we gotta put it back," Susan added in, her voice amused. "Speaking of which, where the hell is Alex with the ice? She nags enough about hydration that she can't leave us hangin'."

"Alex is our missing body," Kara supplied helpfully and Lena nodded.

"I remember hearing her name. I have to confess that I've been watching all of you since you arrived."

In contrast to her sheepishness, the group was blasé, James piping up with, "yeah, we've seen you."

That threw Lena off and she flushed faintly and rubbed at her face for a moment. "Really? Oh god, this is so embarrassing…"

"Pfft, why?" Lucy scoffed and made a big sweeping gesture that almost took off James and Kara's heads where they flanked her. "Ya got a bunch of hot strangers ripping up the house next door! Shit, I'd be curious." Jumping up, she was an instant circus ringleader, flailing about hyperactively at her crewmates. "We got a little bit of everything! Dark meat, white meat, innies and outies! Gay, straight, bi and none at all! We got it all! A smorgasbord of hotness!"

By the reactions of the others, Lena was fairly certain that more than half the crew was somewhere on the LGBTQA+ spectrum, which would fit the small rainbow and equality stickers on their trucks.

"Besides, that cute perch of yours is visible from a couple spots on the property. Your orange housemate has a mean glare."

Lena couldn't hold in her giggling a moment longer, dissolving into the joy of it.

 

\----

And so Lena's afternoons became the highlight of her days. She would bring delicate gourmet goodies and they would provide lunches for twice their numbers and still polish off nearly every scrap. It was an army of classic Chinese food cartons and greasy boxes from a taco truck Kara had tracked down nearly twenty miles away, a pile of sub sandwiches so massive --and thankfully tightly wrapped-- that Lucy grabbed one to wield it like a club while howling like a maniac.

They waited a week to bring on the slop-fest of good barbeque and then felt bad when Lena looked ready to cry at the splat of meat and sauce on her favorite slacks. Susan mopped her off and shooed her off to change and bring the pants back so that she could take them home and get them clean. True to her word, the cloth were snowy white the next day and Susan earned the first hug from their strange neighbor.

In turn, Lena baked in the cooler mornings, watched the various cooking channels and found lovely things to try online. There were custards and cookies and tarts, a rainbow of veggies baked, sautéed and fried, and little meaty nibblies both exotic and ordinary. She even made the asparagus shooters again, this time dropping in a perfectly cooked and cooled shrimp, each tail carefully removed.

A delightful nearly two weeks passed like that, some of the neighborhood kids and families getting ever more curious. Just the day before a nice woman name Juanita from the apartment complex across the street followed her two youngsters over to chat. The crew was lovely to her and Lena latched onto the idea of a little block party the next weekend as September began to think about retirement.

So Lena focused on things she make in quantity and maybe weren't so fussy, no matter how fun they might be, bundling up her experiments to take next door. It was Friday and the concrete work around the house and pool were finally done, so she could look forward to a much quieter weekend and was in a good mood. One that was echoed in her friends as she approached. 

"Aw yeah," Lucy crowed and threw her fists in the air in celebration. "Here comes the hot neighbor coming to cool off our thirsty crew!"

Lena had learned quickly why one of Lucy's many nicknames was 'the Tiny Terror'.

"This would be very 'Desperate Housewives' if you weren't so classy," Megan deadpanned and caught the group flatfooted, Lucy actually freezing with her fists still in the air. It wasn't until Lena dissolved into laughing so hard she nearly dropped her stuff that they all stopped gawking at a very smug Megan. 

"Well," Lena gasped around her giggles and happily passed her things to a helpful Winn, "you are an attractive bunch. Can't blame a girl for getting a bit thirsty."

 

\----

Early on, someone had been in the Airstream trailer every night. With the house torn up, it made sense. But after a few weeks, the house was finished enough that the trailer could be taken away to save wear and tear on the freshly planted lawn. As Kara was excitedly explaining the below-grade watering system she had so painstakingly built, Lena found out that it was Alex who had been on the property most nights.

Somehow, the mystery of her made her all the more intriguing, but Lena felt weird asking. After all, they hadn't even met yet! Kara went on about her like she hung the moon and stars and Lena wasn't sure she was disappointed until she found out they were sisters and a strange anticipation and hope bloomed to life in her.

Could someone become so infatuated with tales and glimpses and the love and trust this group had for their oft-missing member?

 

\----

With the pool complete, the crew was excited for the milestone. To help them along in their celebrations, Lena insisted that her backyard hose add to the filling up the many hundreds of gallons the thing would need.

"I don't care about the money!" she laughed. "Just invite me to the party when this is all done."

Half of them scoffed and the rest grinned, but it was Kara who actually said it. "We would have done that anyway!"

The crew worked late that Friday, later than they ever had before, dusk nipping at their heels as they wearily filed out to their trucks to head to wherever home was. They would be back for the block party greatly anticipated the next day. 

Quiet was a blissful thing, the city a distant hum punctuated by the kids playing nearby and the occasional car driving by. Wanting to catch the hint of autumn on the light breeze, Lena left her little home office to head up to her favorite perch. She didn't even bother with any lights, the way was that familiar. Besides, it was never truly dark in an urban area.

Sipping at a little glass of wine, Lena watch the mostly-full pool ripple from the night-black hoses feeding it. The shadowy moving surface was abruptly illuminated from beneath and Lena jumped a little. She'd seen everyone leave! She was sure of it…

A figure stepped into the night, skinning her shirt off. Lena's alarm vanished as she recognized the silhouette backlit by the pool; those broad shoulders and strong hips, bobbed hair in disarray as Alex casually stripped down in the darkness.

Oh.

Lena knew she should look away, should offer what privacy she could in the natural crowding of humanity gone urban. 

Instead, Lena found herself mesmerized.

Standing from shedding shorts and shoes, Alex tilted her head back to drain a bottle of something before diving into the water. Her form was pretty good, Lena noted dazedly as she watched the woman's paleness a warm streak beneath the water. She could almost hear Alex's sigh of relief as she surfaced on the shallow end to drape herself on the not-quite-submerged steps and just hang there. 

Only the memory of Lucy's cackling on about thirsty neighbors and Megan's teasing about desperate housewives got Lena to gingerly climb down from her cat perch and slink off to her bedroom. Oh, but how those indistinct curves tormented her…


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst! Don't tell, but this is definitely one of my all-time favorite versions of Lena.

Deeply ingrained to the habit of waking early, Lena was shocked to find herself having slept hours past her usual five a.m.! Foregoing her normal exercise routine --she'd certainly get in enough walking today-- she headed for the kitchen to start preparations. No matter the months of retirement, she hated having her schedule thrown off!

Putting on one of her favorite bouncy playlists, Lena perused her recipes for the day one last time, just to be certain. A distracted shimmy became a wild, disjointed bop about the kitchen as one of her favorite songs came on. She was having so much fun, she played it again.

Eventually she finished her mug of good tea and knuckled down to make dough and start prepping vegetables and fruits. The first bread was in the oven and she was wrapping up the pie dough to chill when the stink clued her in.

Panicking, she raced for the oven, yanking it open to find her banana bread only half done and not at all burned. Slamming the door shut, she was grateful that banana bread was pretty bulletproof and the loss of heat shouldn't harm it. Where was the stink coming from?

Then she noticed the thin wisps of smoke coming from next door. 

Without a second thought, she was scrambling for the front door. Hadron complained loudly and scuttled under the couch, leaving only the tip of a petulant orange tail to flick about.

The muffled wail of smoke alarms added to the panic, Lena noting a figure stumbling from the other house to sprawl out on the still-tender lawn. She seriously considered taking a running start at the prickly mass of her overgrown hedges, but sanity won out. Nearly wiping out as she took the far end of the white picket fence between their properties, she found herself slowing up from her panicked flight.

Clearly breathing easily and wearing a mournful face worthy of a cartoon hound dog, the mysterious Alex stared up at the sky as though contemplating the universe. She was barefoot and barely dressed in boxers and a paper-thin tank black tank top that telegraphed quite clearly there was nothing underneath.

It was very distracting.

A glance revealed that that smoke was nearly gone already, curling petulantly from the kitchen windows, and the panic faded away. Gingerly stepping closer, Lena looked down at her eye-catching neighbor and got her first good look.

Alex was even more attractive close up, expressive eyebrows and a button nose with just a touch of asymmetry that bespoke of an old break or two, and a beautifully shaped mouth. Only her eyes remained a mystery, locked away behind long eyelashes that carried the same sun-kiss as her reddened hair.

When Lena found her voice, it clearly telegraphed her mixed emotions. 

"You okay there, neighbor?"

Shielding her eyes from the sun, Alex squinted at her for a moment before flinging her arms out with a great, melodramatic sigh and honest-to-god, kicked her feet like a petulant toddler.

"I just wanted a nice, crispy waffle. One that doesn't come frozen out of a box!" The whine became a melodramatic wail. "Is that too much to ask of the universe?"

It was too much and Lena couldn't fight down a giggle. It took a moment before she could speak with mock gravity. "By the state of your house? I would think the answer is yes."

For a moment Alex gave her a squinty-eyed glare that badly hid a grin. "Oh, you're trouble, pretty lady." Abruptly, the grin grew delighted and Alex rolled to her feet with an economy of motion that left Lena feeling all fluttery. At last the mystery of eye color was revealed to be a rich, earthy brown that was anything but ordinary. "Hey, you're the hot neighbor! The one who's been trying to fatten up my team with pie. It took some doing for me to try that vegan zucchini apple terror, because really, what monster makes vegan apple pie? But Kara made me try and it and you're really good!"

The flood of words spluttered out as Alex flushed lightly, flattering her fair coloring. If Lena hadn't already known she was related to Kara, she might have still suspected it from the endearing rambling.

"Umm, sorry. Hi, I'm Alex Danvers," was the quietly awkward and charming introduction, the right hand thrust out while she raked the left through her disordered hair. Completely taken with the stranger she'd been fascinated with for so long, Lena accepted the strong, calloused grip.

"Lena Luthor. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Yeah, it's weird that we've been missing one another for what, like two months now? I have a couple of side jobs running my feet off though, so there's that. Still, this project is coming along nicely."

"It is. Your team tells me you're the landscape expert?"

Pleased, Alex preened a bit and posed with hands on hips. It was adorable. "That's me."

Lena was pretty sure it was the dumb, lusty parts of her brain that spoke up and she really hoped she didn't sound as… leering as she felt. "You do nice work. I kill plants if I so much as look at them too long. I don't even know how I have anything green at all, much less the overgrown mess that should really be bare dirt."

Alex's grin was delightful and Lena couldn't shut her mouth up.

"I could trade you for some waffles?"

Lighting up like a kid on Christmas day, Alex nearly vibrated with enthusiasm. "Yes! Hell yes! I will absolutely trade you landscape care for a waffle! Sold!"

Caught up in that stunning grin, Lena didn't even notice how low and suggestive her voice sounded. "For some yard work, I'll make you all the waffles you can eat."

It was Lena's turn to pink around the ears, stammering that she'd need a little time to get preparations together. There was something in Alex's smile that made her blush harder.

"No problem. I need to clean up my mess and shut the damn alarms up anyway. So, see you in half hour or so?"

"Perfect. See you then."

It took a long moment and an embarrassed little laugh before Lena could drag herself away.

It wasn't until Lena floated back into her house that is sank in that she was about to have her sexy, mysterious neighbor over for the first time. A frantic look around showed her the flaws in her housekeeping, the wisps of cat hair, the mug and plate still on the coffee table near her laptop and papers. But there was no time to do a thing about it and her inner control freak was just going to have to deal.

The batter would need to sit for a bit, so she pulled out ingredients and got to mixing and substituting. Twenty minutes passed and the first batch smelled lovely and warm. Since Alex hadn't shown yet, Lena pulled them a bit early while they were still pale and not quite crispy. That way they could be stashed in her warmed oven to hang out for a bit.

Thirty minutes passed and Lena felt insidious worry creep up her spine as the minutes continued to tick by. At the thirty-seven minute mark, there was finally a frantic knock at the door. If she hurried, she could let Alex in and still get back to this set of waffles.

While she had expected the mysterious and sexy Alex, she hadn't expected her with shower-damp hair roughly finger combed and wearing the single ugliest tie-dye shirt she'd ever laid eyes on. Still, she forgave the terrible shirt for that shy-eager grin and the trio of slightly battered rose blooms clearly snipped off a local shrub. The waffles were forgotten in that nervous smile and the raggedy flowers.

"For you," Alex said with all the grace of a terrified twelve year old and Lena took the roses, noting that thorns had been hurriedly snipped off. Like many less hybridized variants, the ruffled pale pink blossoms smelled warm and sweet. Soft against Lena's nose and lips, the petals caressed her pleased little smile.

When had someone impulsively brought her flowers from their own yard? Never, that's when. Green eyes were warm and coy beneath dark lashes. "Thank you, Alex. They're lovely. Come in."

Alex's smile faltered as she half tripped over the door threshold and looked around the airy entryway and living room. "What a great space! I love that the bones of the place is intact. This is like mid-century weird hacienda, only classy."

"What a great description."

Chuckling to herself, Lena rushed to the waffle iron that was just starting to smell sour. Just in the nick of time too, the dough within inching past well-done and skirting burned. For a moment, Lena eyed them hanging off her fork and shrugged, dropping them in the trash. Alex made a pained noise where she'd sat on one of the barstools at the kitchen island and her face was morose when Lena shot her a grin. 

A big dollop of batter had the machine busy again and she turned to the oven to retrieve the pan within, covered by a tea towel.

"Fear not, hapless neighbor, I haven't forgotten your belly."

At the tail end of the melodramatic little speech, Lena whipped off the towel and Alex actually gasped in delight. "Oh my god, they're gorgeous!"

When the pan clicked down on the counter, Alex stared at it like it was the entrance to El Dorado.

"Have at. Whatever you don't eat will go into bags to be frozen until you have another waffle emergency."

That was good enough for Alex, who piled four of the things on the plate set out for her to slather them in butter and good maple syrup. The look on her face when she took a huge bite was somewhere between cartoonishly adorable and lusty enough that Lena had to clear her throat and look away. The happy little noises only added to the tableau. Mouth overfull, Alex could only nod when Lena waggled the coffee carafe at her. After a few gluttonous bites, she slowed up enough to try out talking again.

"These are amazing!"

The gushing before another sloppy mouthful made Lena grin. "Thank you. I didn't have any buttermilk, but I'm rather pleased how the plain yogurt worked out."

Alex stopped chewing and stared at her for a moment before finishing up her mouthful and swallowing hard. "Wait, you made these from scratch?"

"Of course. I've been improving my basic cooking skills for months now and I like a challenge. I wasn't completely sure mixing in a bit of soft wheat before sending the grains through my flour mill would work out, but I like it."

"You have a flour mill?"

"It's over there on the counter. I'm going to need more wheat berries after this weekend. You're lucky I've already made my banana bread and had enough left over for this. The wooden device with the funnel shape on the top."

"I had no idea there were countertop flour mills."

"Neither did I until I fell into cooking."

For another long moment, Alex eyeballed Lena like she was a puzzle quite incomprehensible, then shrugged and went back to her food frenzy. The first four didn't last long and she was eyeballing the tray when a flash of movement made her jump a little in surprise. It was a chunky ginger cat crouching to glare suspiciously at her from the edge of the kitchen island. Before she could do more than quirk a little smile, Lena's outraged gasp made the ginger cat look away.

"Hadron! Get off the counter!"

The cat seemed wholly unimpressed with the admonishment. When Lena picked him to be snuggled for a moment before being set on the floor, Alex could understand why.

"Naughty boy," she muttered and scraped the last bit of batter onto hot iron before turning and finding herself flustered by Alex's charismatic smile.

"Did you really name your cat, Hadron?"

Shy as a schoolgirl, Lena fiddled unnecessarily at the waffle iron for a moment. "It seemed to fit how cats will get hyper and zoom all over the place like, well--"

"A proton!" Alex cackled in delight. "That's really clever."

Overstuffed with the additional two waffles she was seduced by, Alex shuffled and groaned her way to Lena's couch where Hadron eyed her disdainfully. Still, by the time Lena had done a quick, basic cleanup and refreshed her coffee, cat and guest were sharing a casual snuggle.

"Aw, you made a friend."

Unsure which of them Lena was teasing, cat and human eyed one another and mutually just let it go. Particularly when Lena sat on the other end of the couch to join Alex in casually stroking Hadron's ginger fur.

"I didn't have pets as a kid, so befriending this fellow was great fun. He adopted me and not the other way around. It's nice to have some companionship around."

Slit-eyed and purring steadily, the former stray was the picture of aloof contentment.

"We had cats and dogs at various points, but really, I hardly needed them because I have Kara." Despite the teasing, it was obvious Alex adored her sister. "I do miss having pets though. But too much moving around with my business."

It was a good opening and Lena grabbed it. "How did you fall into it?"

Maybe it was a touch forward, but Alex answered so readily that Lena could only let her small embarrassment go.

"Well, my dad was a college physics professor, but loved using his free time in the little shop out in the garage. Naturally, I was fascinated and wanted to learned what all the tools were and what they did. It was a good excuse to bond." Alex's sweet happiness faded suddenly and Lena felt her heart plummet. "I had been set to follow my folks into the sciences, but then…" It took a moment before she could speak around the devastation that clearly still clearly haunted her. "But then Dad was killed in a robbery gone south. Somehow, it was only in his shop that I felt like a could breathe for the longest time."

Clearing her throat roughly, Alex forced the memories back, scrubbing her eyes quickly with her hands and reaching for her coffee.

"So, I decided that was going to be my path, working with my hands. We worked his little garden sometimes too, and that was eventually where I found myself. Jobs in a couple nurseries and landscape outfits and botany and industrial design in college got me the skills I needed. Kara's an artist and needed income and is always willing to pitch in, so it was a natural fit to want to go into business for ourselves. John is my dad's best friend from way, way back and loved the idea and helped us get started. The others fell into it over time."

Relieved for the return of casual conversation, Lena eagerly jumped back in. "And now you… what was the word."

"Flip?"

"That was it! Now you flip houses for a living. It does seem like a decent living if you've the right skills and time frame."

"It is, but it's also a gamble every time. Our last build didn't net us nearly what we wanted and I have student loans, so I picked up a couple side jobs writing and editing for a science website and driving limos. I also ditched my apartment and shoved most of my shit, err, stuff in storage to live in the trailer. Well, I was anyway; I'm in the house now. Bureaucracy gets pissy about that sort of thing if they know about it. Kara's been crashing with the others and living with me by turns." A mischievous smile made Lena grin back somewhat helplessly. Really, this wild child was impossibly charismatic. "I can't complain about having a real house to live in, no matter how briefly."

"And a furnished house always sells better," Lena added sagely and Alex's grin deepened.

"Even if it means I have to keep it clean."

That earned a little laugh. "Even then." 

The fascination of just how different this woman and her friends were ran deep and Lena strove to keep Alex talking. 

"You said industrial design? Do you do the architectural work for your projects?"

Clearly surprised, Alex gave her a long look that both made Lena squirm and bask in the attention. "Some of it, yes. We still have to run it past a licensed architect and engineer, but we have some contacts for that. I do the overall theme since the landscape is all mine, and shoot for a coherent whole. Lucy does most of the paperwork because she used to be an Army lawyer and is good at it and the job lets her do something both peaceful and hands on where she can rip shit apart to give her demons some peace. John's a man of many skills and steps up to being the boss when someone has to be. Kara and Winn do the design work that doesn't fall under my purview. Winn is the wire guy; electrical, information, whatever. Megan or Vas trade back and forth on plumbing duties and, frankly, pretty much everything else on a worksite because women who can do shit are sexy. James is mostly helping out to stay in top shape and make a few bucks." 

As though realizing suddenly that she'd been rambling on, Alex looked flustered and fiddled at Hadron's ears for a long moment. 

"What about you?"

The question was tentative and Lena found herself appreciating that. Leaning sideways into the couch, she watched where their two hands lay close on Hadron's fur. There was no mistaking the strain in her voice when she spoke.

"I came here to start over, to learn to be someone new. My inheritance came early and not for good reasons."

Alex's quiet was somehow a soothing and a nervous glance snared Lena into soft brown eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said quietly and Lena felt the pain of her losses strike her harder than they had in months.

"Me too. But my brother chose ambition over family and decency and there's nothing I could do to stop him." Shaking off her sadness, she forced some cheer. "I came to LA for better weather and it seemed like fun. This house was a bit of a whim, but I love it."

"Even with the chaos next door?"

There was a… zing, a sense of connection, and Lena found she couldn't look away from those soft, intense eyes.

"Especially because of the chaos next door."

There was something heavy and anticipatory between them, shattered when the stove timer beeped urgently. Relieved and disappointed, Lena hopped up and gestured at the kitchen.

"Banana bread."

Oh, she'd had a feeling meeting the mysterious Alex was going to be the best sort of trouble, but the way she was jittery as a swooning schoolgirl was disconcerting. Always one to feel rather than think, Lena could only hope this would work out better than her past.

"So, I have to admit that I really have no idea what to expect from a block party outside of the promises of food."

Alex dawdled back over to her stool at the kitchen island to watch the bread being de-panned and set out to cool. From the refrigerator came chilled dough to be scooped out in dollops onto parchment paper for baking.

"In truth? Me either. Bet there'll be loud music and kids running around and lots of conversation. And probably booze. You need a hand?"

"With this? No, I'm good." For a moment Lena hesitated before setting the cookies in the oven to bake and taking a deep breath. Alex seemed a bit leery at her forcing an appearance of boldness past her clear nervousness. "Though maybe a bit of fashion advice would be helpful."

That made Alex blink. "You want me to help you decide what to wear?"

"Well, yes. I'll inevitably lean towards being too formal. Your team has been really great about helping me with that."

The sharp scoff made Lena wince, but Alex voice was fond. "That pack of mongrels? I bet."

Alex was too curious not to follow Lena to the master bedroom and its large but still inadequate closet. Past hangers full of all manner of clothing was Lena's goal and Alex gawked at the whole back wall built out into shoe racks. They were crowded with everything from towering high heels that screamed 'head-spinning expensive' to fetish go-go boots in hot pink to four shelves of classic Keds canvas sneakers in a rainbow of colors and patterns. 

Lena had always preferred to start with shoes and build her way up. The adorable sneakers were no exception to that and she smiled over them. "I found these online and they were so cute that I had to have them, but there are so many colors that I couldn't decide on just a few."

'A few' had turned into some thirty-odd pairs of the things, but at least she could coordinate with nearly anything in her wardrobe!

"Wow," Alex seemed to be struggling with exactly what to say. "That's uh, quite the shoe rack."

"Isn't it though? I had some trouble assembling it from the flat boxes, but I'm very proud to have done it myself."

Alex still seemed a bit at a loss, but her smile had gentled to something that made Lena's belly all fluttery. Putting on an affected air, she grabbed a turquoise pair and eyed them critically. 

"This is tolerable for a boating expedition, I suppose." Next was a warmly yellow set. "Perhaps a bit of a walk with Hadron?" Then came a nice merlot color. "Then a three o’clock wine and cheese bash in the garden."

Alex's wry look earned a stifled little giggle. "I was right. You're trouble."

Just as the oven timer had interrupted their bonding earlier, the urgent warble of Alex's phone made her growl and dig into her pocket. 

"Danvers," she said crisply and her expression went annoyed and relieved. "I'm reassured to hear from you, yes." While she was clearly listening, she cupped her hand around the device and whispered, "the turquoise. They bring out your eyes. See me out?"

Aflutter at the flattery, Lena showed her to the door and returned the wave and smile as Alex strode away, mind on her call.

"Well this has been quite the morning," she said to Hadron and set about going on with her day, her mind full of Alex Danvers.

 

\----

Resplendent and relaxed in a turquoise ensemble highlighted in soft gray and a touch of purple, Lena threw herself into the block party with relish. Lucy had accosted her first, first with a crushing hug that completely took Lena off guard and then with a glass of spiked lemonade over ice and of all things, a jello shooter.

"Live it up, Luthor! You ain't driving!"

Well, when in Rome…

It was a delight to see her pals at their relaxed best, dressed like the people they were outside of the grueling work they'd put in the nearby house. 

People and tables and food poured out of the apartment complex to be waved into setting up on the driveways of the two houses, and as Alex had predicted, high-energy music poured from a ground floor apartment. 

But there was no Alex.

"She had a science emergency," Kara explained, raising her voice over the growing party. "If she hadn't been working on this project for four months, she'd have set it back to be here. She'll show eventually."

So Lena did her best to set aside the itch of infatuation and enjoy the mix of food and people in the warm open air. As afternoon became evening, the crowded grew and ebbed and the fading heat encouraged more activity. Lena had been careful to manage what she'd been drinking, but suspected the shooters were more heavily spiked than the flavor would suggest. Otherwise she never would have let James swing her into a surprisingly adept mambo while the others clapped and catcalled. 

But everything faded away as she was spun out only to fall into strong arms she'd been fantasizing about. Sometime in the darkness and dance, Alex had at last arrived.

"Hey," she greeted softly, only the scant inches between them letting Lena hear her in the noise.

Maybe it was the booze, or the warmth of the night, or the odd privacy that only a raucous crowd could provide, but Lena threw caution to the wind and draped her arms around Alex's neck, pressing close. "Glad you made it. Dance with me?"

There would be no dirty mambo, what with their bodies close as lovers, but after a moment of lip-nibbling trepidation, Alex slid her hands up Lena's back and shifted their weight into something that sort of followed the rollicking music. 

Lena's heart was pounding to be so close to the hopeless torch she'd been carrying for this stranger for so long. By the twinkle in those night-black eyes, maybe, just maybe, that crush might not be so hopeless after all.

The electric moment was unfortunately short-lived as a puppy-enthusiastic Kara descended on them, turning the closeness of their dance into a rib-creaking crush as she managed to somehow pick them both up for a moment.

"You're back! Yay!"

That was enough of a signal for the gang to descend and even disappointed to have lost her intimate moment with Alex, Lena liked them all too much to do more than laugh and dive back into the fray. 

No one paid any notice when Lucy sighed melodramatically and rolled her eyes before handing a smug Susan a twenty.

The block party was a rollicking success, new friends made, recipes exchanged, flirting practiced and copious amounts of food and drink consumed. Tipsy and giggly, Lena helped Megan and Lucy clean up, James and Kara hauling off garbage bags. She didn't even ask, just followed the crowd of them into the refurbished house they'd worked so hard on. Blearily looking around, she somewhat vaguely complimented the work but was pretty sure she wasn't going to remember much about it at all. 

More of the heavy music filled the living room and half the gang seemed tireless as they turned the generically tasteful space into their own dance club. But Lena was missing her crush and was loose enough to give no heed to being nervous and shy.

Alex was the landscape expert of the crew, sp that was a good place to start. A peek into the fridge revealed stacks of water bottles of which she gratefully stole one before heading out the French doors to the backyard. The scantly lit space was familiar even from this different angle, so many hours watching the work crew slaving away for what would hopefully be a good payoff for them. 

A scan around found Alex nearby, hunched over a laden plate and looking at her almost guiltily, cheeks puffed around too much of a bite. A grin slowly spread over Lena's face as she walked over with a swing in her step and Alex hurriedly chewed and swallowed. 

"Was starving," she said with an edge of defensiveness that gentled as Lena stepped in close.

"Yeah? Me too." The seductive tease in Lena's voice gave Alex only a split second warning to shove the plate off to the side table before she was lewdly straddled. Lena was no heavyweight, but she still 'whuff'ed the breath out of Alex with her loose-limbed mass. There were curious fingers disarraying her hair cut soft-butch chic, manicured nails scratching shivers down her spine. 

Whoo boy.

"I have a crush on you," Lena whispered out her secret, smile a sly thing in the shadows. "It's silly, I know, 'cause we didn't even meet yet, but there it is."

Somehow Lena made the sloppy, sexy and adorable all work for her, Alex didn't bother to try and figure out how. 

"Yeah, well I think it wouldn't take much to have a crush on you too, the way my crew goes on about you."

The compliment made Lena grin as joyfully as an excited toddler. "I like them too! They like my food and made me try barbeque and I liked it even if it got on my pants but Susan fixed it so that's okay and they gave me beer and shooters!"

Yep, adorable. Though if she didn't stop squirming so enticingly, Alex was going to need some sort of divine intervention from the lesbian goddesses. 

"How many of those did you have, honey?"

"I dunno, but they're so good! I normally hate jello 'cause it's so," a high-pitched little hiccup escaped her like a squeak, "sweet, but the al-- hey, could I call you Al? That's cute. You're cute." Leaning hard into Alex's torso, Lena ruffled her hair up, fascinated with it. "The alcohol cuts the sweet. Yum!"

That sweet, dopey grin so close where Lena rested her head on Alex's shoulder made her realize that she was definitely in trouble. Certainly the best sort of trouble, but still…

"Do you think you could like me?" Lena asked with absolute earnestness, her eyes wide and beseeching. 

"I do like you," Alex said, every bit as earnestly. "I'll tell you what, hot stuff. When you're sober and back up to speed, I'm going to ask you out and then you can give your answer. Sound good?"

"Whoo hoo!" Lena crowed and leaned back, almost upsetting her precarious position, to boogie with hilarious sloppiness. As she was still straddling Alex, there was a significant level of tormenting involved. Then she threw herself back into Alex's muscled torso, clonking her forehead into her chin hard enough to hurt. Seeming to be immune to pain, Lena squirmed her arms around Alex and clung to her like a koala and murmured, "you're the best, Al."

It was all Alex could do to keep praying earnestly to all the lesbian goddesses for fortitude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: So... Alex can't cook. like burn her house down can't cook. And she's craving waffles. Real ones. and makes a horrible mess, like even her cute neighbor is nearly smoked out of her house. finds a disconsolate Alex sprawled out on her lawn, smoke alarms wailing in the house. Despite herself, Lena thinks it's cute  
> Geekystorytelling: Omg I can't. Alex just lounging on the lawn. Giving up. Hell or even Alex muttering to herself that she is in trouble while looking at Lena
> 
>  
> 
> Shatterpath- can't you just see her leaning over her phone/tablet looking up recipes online, shaking her ass to her playlist? SO thoughtful and pleased to have a culinary audience, doing her dorky Hallmark movie dancing in her huge kitchen  
> Geekystorytelling- I love it Soooo much Also I want that playlist  
> Shatterpath- at this exact moment I'm on Pitbull's 'Fireball', which would suit perfectly by perfect chance. in fact i'm listening to it AGAIN just to imagine Lena bopping around her kitchen like a nerd
> 
> Shatterpath- in her designer jeans and Keds shoes she hates getting dirty. BAHAHAHAHA  
> Geekystorytelling- Keds!! I can’t bahahahha  
> Shatterpath- She's so proud she owns sneakers AT ALL. Alex is totally looking for the cameras. Hell yes she is


	3. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A LOT of the dialog in this was gleaned from the IMs I'd hoarded away, which already have the cadence of a running conversation. Never a bad thing for a writer.
> 
> Oh, and 'making waffles' will forever make them leer and blush.

Groaning pitifully, Lena squinted at the blazing sunlight spearing through her room and into her brain.

Jell-o shooters. Never again.

It took moments more to figure out that, yes, she was indeed in her own bed, still in her party clothes, but pleasantly barefoot, and smelling faintly of chlorine and those damn shooters.

Never again!

Her hungover confusion shattered when someone quietly entered her room, startling her. It was just Kara, looking a bit worse for wear as well. In her hands was the breakfast tray from her living room.

"Hey pal. I bet you're not feeling much better than I am."

Forcing herself to sit up, Lena accepted the tray, squinting at the contents. Heavily milked-down coffee which she grabbed for like a starving dog, a bit of smoothie she'd bet was her banana/mango mix stored in the freezer and even a little dish of scrambled eggs. 

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't cook them. John did. You're safe. I did the toast. With supervision."

Amused, Lena grinned at her pal. "Are you as bad a cook as your sister?"

"Yes," Kara said with great weighty drama and sat on the edge of the bed. "Luckily for you, she's out in the sunshine romancing your plants. Said something about waffles?"

Flushing lightly, Lena debated jumping up to go look, but a glare from Kara kept her in place.

"You eat, then you can go ogle my sister."

Lena could feel the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck and ears. The way Kara's face transformed from surly and grossed out to an evil grin only made her blush harder.

"You must have been ten shots in and feeling it. Loving all over everyone like a sleepy puppy." Her laughter was a warm thing, stifled by a groan as they both flinched from the noise. "Luckily for you, and for my poor little sister sensibilities, Alex is nothing if not classy. So she brought you home, got you into bed, fed your cat and locked up. The whole enchilada. Since she didn't know how your security system worked, she and John even slept on your couches to watchdog. Good thing too, because Susan found herself some booty last night and Alex is going to have to wash her sheets. And possibly burn her new mattress."

Lena didn't choke on her eggs, but it was a near thing.

"Hark!" They heard Alex's mirthful voice from outside. "I hear voices from yon window breaks. Tis morning and I am blinded of the sun."

Sure enough, out on the lawn was the lady in question, grinning from ear to ear. Headachy, squinting and clinging to a piece of toast, Lena went to the window to warily push aside the gauzy curtains.

"The Bard is going to come and haunt you for that. Or a pack of wandering minstrels might maul you."

Alex just laughed and put her hands on her hips in a heroic pose. It illustrated to Lena that she was not fantasizing it, Alex really was showing off in shorty cutoffs and a tanktop so thin and so tight she might as well be naked. And the big, clonky, heavy-duty workboots, of course. That grin morphed into something suggestive and almost sultry and the pang Lena felt had nothing to do with her hangover.

Shaking a foot, Alex said merrily, "safety first!"

"Then put on a shirt, you slut!" Kara called out and Lena chuckled even as the volume made her wince.

"Wanna come see your yards with a few hours work on them?"

And as much as Lena wanted to race out and throw herself into the strong arms of this charismatic woman, other needs held her back. 

"Um, let me clean up and I'll be happy to join you."

"Sure thing."

A slow dash for her closet had clean, casual things in hand and Lena paused when she noticed the clock said it was nearly noon! Good lord…

In the bathroom, she discovered her hair was inexplicably braided neatly and finished off with a scrunchie patterned with, of all things, the little yellow Minions characters. At a loss of how that came to be or how to get it undone in her addled state, Lena gave up and just pinned the braid up so that she could strip and wallow in the heat of the shower for a few minutes. Feeling a bit better, she finished up and slipped into clean clothes. Sometimes, it was the little things that made life worth living. Baby-soft and expensive Egyptian cotton was one of those things. Patting at her damp hair, Lena went to her colorful menagerie of sneakers and wisely went with the black pair to slum it out in the yards.

Kara grinned at her when she strode out to the kitchen and slid a glass of thick, pulpy red across the counter towards her. "There we go, you look much more refreshed. Some hair of the dog for you."

As Lena suspected by the stalk of celery dangling inelegantly from the glass, there were whiffs of Worcestershire sauce and vodka beneath the meaty scent of tomato. A sip confirmed a tasty Bloody Mary that she drank heartily. Thusly braced, she grabbed a sunhat and sunglasses to follow Kara outside, leaving her tall friend on the porch to put her boots on while she followed the sounds of clipping. The day was surprisingly pleasant, if not the usual blindingly sunny, but at least the temperatures actually felt remotely like fall.

At the ratty hedge separating the two properties, Alex was busy at work tidying them. Even as distracting as her ass was in those denim cutoffs, Lena had to stare in disbelief at the change in her familiar surroundings.

"You did all this in just a few hours?"

The grin Alex flashed her way might have gotten more suggestive if she licked her lips, but Lena wasn't sure about it.

"They were really good waffles."

Yes it was both possible to be nauseatingly hungover and still want to shove someone into a hedge and have your way with them. Who knew?

"We'll have to do that again sometime," Lena said back, rather proud of herself that she sounded every bit as low and suggestive. Shoving her clippers negligently into her ass pocket, Alex stepped in close, their bodies not quite touching.

"We should," she murmured, those brown eyes glittering in the sunshine. "I like how this second morning is working out too."

And while last night was entirely too hazy, Lena remembered being close to this fascinating woman and her deliciously muscled body. Where the hell the bravery to reach out and trace one sweaty arm came from, she had no idea, but was damn glad for it.

"Me too. Despite the hangover. Which you don't seem to have. Rude."

Her mild complaint was offset by Alex's laughter and Kara's merry comment as she finally joined them. "It'll take more than a little block party and some jello shots to fuck over Miss Constitution Like The Hulk."

"Oh god," Lena groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Don't remind me of the jell-o shots."

"I don't know, you seemed to like them just fine last night," Alex teased and Kara snorted.

"I'll say."

There was no fighting being mashed between the sister's strong bodies, Kara plastering herself to Lena's back to help squeeze her into squeaking for mercy. 

"Awwww, Lena's so dainty and Alex, you're like knee deep in mud," Kara mocked and moved away to start fiddling at the debris left behind by the yard work. Lena remained enclosed in Alex's arms, lost in those eyes.

"Was I really a drunken hussy?"

The soft question earned another low chuckle. "Well you did love all over me in a very friendly drunk sort of way--," Alex teased, but Kara broke in suddenly.

"--but at least you weren't dancing on the bar top, right?"

"Oh god, this is so embarrassing."

Pressed so close, the electricity between them built again, and a kiss would be so easy…

Which meant of course that there was a racket of sound that heralded the arrival of the rest of the gang.

For all her simmering hormones, Lena did get to hang out with her pals who shooed her off to the sole poolside lounge chair while they cleaned up and raided her kitchen for snacks and refreshing drinks. Despite the interruption, Lena couldn't complain about watching them in action close up, efficient and attractive.

"Damn, you have the most amazingly stocked kitchen I've ever seen," Winn gushed as he appeared with sandwiches piled high and glasses of juice gleaned from her fridge. "I'm moving in. You sure you don't mind us cleaning you out?"

" _Mi casa, su casa_ ," Lena reassured him airily and took a glass of limeaid from the tray when he offered. "It's an excuse to go buy more goodies to restock."

"You've been a godsend this job," Lucy chimed in as the others happily congregated for a snack. "This summer has been a bear and your goodies have helped keep us going."

"It seemed like a good way to try and fit in," Lena said and her smile was a mix of sheepish and mischievous. "I'm not sure how well I've succeeded, but still, we got a block party out of it!"

"And you made us eat healthier."

Most of them scoffed at Winn for that and Susan added, "marginally."

"Yes, I've been consistently horrified and fascinated at fried chicken and meatball sandwiches and taco truck food."

"But you at least tried everything," Kara teased.

"I did, didn't I? Even the burrito the size of my head. I still don't know how you ate yours and still had the room to finish most of mine."

"We eat like children, we admit it. But at least we sweat it all off."

They laughed so much, this group of coworkers and friends. They warmed Lena's lonely life and she was so very grateful to have met them all. How she was going to miss them…

With completely feigned gravity, Alex nodded and chimed in, "our mom will be ever so impressed that you got us to eat a vegetable or three."

"She might need proof though," Kara deadpanned along with her sister.

"I'm sure she'll be appreciative of you slowing us down to a more civilized speed."

Lena was rather proud of herself for the suggestive, "working on it," she managed to produce to the amusement of the others.

With Alex acting as ruthless overlord, the backyard soon matched the price tag Lena had paid for the property and was raked and swept clean. The gang goofed off for a bit, ate more of Lena's food and dangled their feet in her pool before trickling away to their Saturday plans. And while Lena enjoyed them all, she was constantly distracted by Alex and doing a lousy job hiding that fact.

Luckily, Alex showed no signs of wanting to wander. In fact as Kara vanished back into the house, she came over to sit on the lounge chair by Lena's bare toes. 

"So, I made you a promise last night," Alex began softly, edging on shy and Lena was charmed all over again. "That I'd ask you ou--"

Generally speaking, Lena was not an impulsive person. She liked to think things through, get what information she could before making a move. This time she threw caution to the wind and nearly knocked Alex off the lounge chair leaping on her. As first kisses went, it was a terrible one, sloppy and nose-twisting, but Lena was delighted that expressive mouth was every bit as soft as she hoped.

"Yes, absolutely yes."

That blinding smile up close was even better, clearly telegraphing Alex's delight. As bamboozled by her as she'd been from their meeting just yesterday, Lena found herself rambling on like a horny teenager. 

"God, I've wanted to do that for weeks. Especially since that night you gave me a show as the pool was filling…"

Even as green eyes rounded in horror, Alex's smile turned wicked and she didn't let her squirm away. In fact, for all of Lena's attempts, she found herself pressed into the long chair, Alex's firm body between her thighs and warm over her torso.

"So I gave you a show, huh?" Alex teased throatily and Lena slapped her hands over her face, feeling her blush hot against her palms.

"Oh god, this is so embarrassing."

The whine fell flat, gone breathless as Lena felt Alex brush her nose and lips over her throat and the underside of her jaw like the promise of a kiss. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with some classic raunchy seduction in the 'burbs," she purred in a soft voice of pure seduction and Lena actually whimpered.

Which meant, of course, that Kara stepped out and made an aggrieved noise. "Bleah, I'm totally going to catch you two fucking around at some point. Gross!"

Seduction instantly turned to a splutter of amusement and Lena sighed dramatically but let Alex sit up before doing the same.

"Oh poor Kara. Of course you will," she mocked primly and the sisters both laughed.

Lena had come to Los Angeles to begin a new life. In this group of interesting strangers and the welcome chaos they had brought to her life…

She had found it.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, the dishwasher incident? Totally autobiographical. Hey, I was a dumb teen, how was I supposed to know?
> 
> The tacky asphalt is a real thing. I grew up at the northern end of Los Angeles County in a place called the Santa Clarita Valley. To give you a clue to the weather? We were separated from the fringes of the Mojave Desert by only a ridge of mountains. On really hot days after long periods of really hot days, the asphalt would get SO hot you could literally feel it burning through your shoes and it would radiate heat at you as badly as the sun itself. Get enough of those days --and it happened semi-regularly-- the asphalt would actually soften ever so slightly, tugging at your soles like the sticky side of weak tape. A disconcerting sensation to say the least. Do I miss Santa Clarita? HELL NO.
> 
> IM NONSENSE:  
> Shatterpath- give it a weekish of Lena bringing the crew increasingly fancy little chilled drinks and shooters of veg and fruits and stuff. asparagus and citrus blended frothy, blood orange with a touch of honey, expensive mint tea  
> Geekystorytelling- I’m literally done. Lena is the fucking funniest  
> Shatterpath- her hilarity is so clueless rich girl HONEST, she's a delight. imagine skinny shot glasses of some fancy blend of citrus with a touch of gelatin to thicken with a single shrimp inside, tails so very neatly removed  
> Geekystorytelling-Lmfao Lena is the most extra  
> Shatterpath- a kale blend with painstakingly thin slices of green onion  
> Geekystorytelling- she's freaking ADORABLE and so earnest. these grease monkeys are gonna love her and her lovely chilly little goodies. The real question is are they gonna ship agentcorp as hard as me  
> Shatterpath- Well Lucy is going to spend the week taunting Alex that she missed the goodies while Kara and the boys go on and on how yummy they were. and I'm always for Alex being instantly a bit smitten  
> i kinda want to drag it out, let Lena catch her skinny dipping and various other shenanigans, but this fits the construction scenario better. the waffles incident will be once everything is done. or they're on finishing work and the place is habitable. i'm tempted to have one of the crew fall in love with the place and shock Alex by buying it  
> BONUS IM  
> i'm suddenly in love with curious baker Lena. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? fancy produce shooters and baking


End file.
